The Hollywood remake of ‘The Debt’ (2011) is based on an Israeli film of the same name: in Hebrew, ‘Ha Hov’ (2007). From all the reviews I have read, the critical reception is greatly split down the middle - half prefer the remake, half the original. The ‘Hollywoodisation’ (Klein, 2004) - the globalising process by which foreign films are becoming more typical of American archetypal blockbusters - of ‘The Debt’ is evident in two main elements: love and action.
The synopsis of the story for those who don’t know it is succinctly expressed in the trailer.
Character bios and changes in names are important to this discussion.
The differences are small but stereotypically reminiscent of Hollywood films. The love triangle is given much greater attention and continuous personal relationships between the three Mossad agents are added in the remake where they are absent in the original. There are more action sequences (as a result of the higher budget) in the remake. Finally, and perhaps most pertinently, ‘Ha Hov’ focuses on national identity while ‘The Debt’ is more interested in the individual and the personal consequences of keeping a secret.
Another interesting change is in the Israeli version the character of both Rachel and Ehud (David) travel to Ukraine but Rachel must complete the mission alone after Ehud suffers from cowardice. In the remake, Rachel goes by herself because David (Ehud) has killed himself. Could this be perceived as a scapegoat for allowing a female lead in a Hollywood film?
True to Hollywood form, everything is accentuated in the American remake, including the scar on the character of Rachel. Some argue that this results in a film that is “altogether darker, more densely textured, more satisfyingly structured, more morally complex” (Robinson, “Refinancing Bernstein’s ‘The Debt’”, 2011). While others argue that the manipulations and changes alter the meaning of the film: “perhaps most importantly, the ending of the Israeli film is much stronger, really driving home the meaning behind the film’s title and the costs that making good on that debt incurs on the protagonists” (Ignizio, “The Debt”, 2011).
References:
Ignizio, B 2011, “The Debt”, The Cleveland Movie Blog, 2 November, accessed 20 September 2013, >http://www.clevelandmovieblog.com/2011/11/debt-original-2007-israeli-version.html<
Klein, C 2004, ‘Martial Arts and the Globalisation of the Asian Film Industries’, Comparative American Studies: An International Journal, Sage Publications, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 360-384
Robinson, G 2011, “Refinancing Bernstein’s ‘The Debt’”, The Jewish Week, 31 August, accessed 20 September 2013, >http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/film/refinancing_bernsteins_debt<
TrailersAnyClip 2012, 'The Debt (2010) Trailer', YouTube, 30 April, accessed 20 September >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9fagr0ny08<
Images:
Hi Claire,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog and have never seen either film so it was interesting to read your examples of hollywoodisation from an objective view. You have made evident the Hollywood characteristics that are apparent in the U.S remake of the film. This is very typical in many movies like Brothers, Solaris, Vanilla Sky, Let Me In, Chloe, and Death at a Funeral which are all remakes of foreign films. You have provided lots of imagery that illustrates the differences between the films and how Hollywood changed the narrative, focusing on the individual rather than nationalism.
You have not made many references to scholarly texts and this blog also does not have any links to further information. It really would have benefited from both of these.
Some further discussion on how globalisation has enables hollywoodisation would have tied up nicely in showing the audience that how this connects.
Great work!
Thanks ~ Melissa
Hey Claire,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I would like to point out the excellent use of images within this blog. They are very captivating and are encouraging to read the blog.
As for ‘The Debt’, you offer great insight into Hollywoodisation of different countries films. It is nothing new to understand that Americans like to take films from other countries and give them a western flare. I believe that this is leading to a denationalization of global film industry. I agree that films adapted in true American style have more explosions. Great Blog.
Hi Claire,
ReplyDeleteYou managed to perform a pretty thorough critical textual analysis of a movie in 350 words and that is quite an accomplishment. I agree that Hollywood tends to overdo drama and action in remakes of foreign films in order to grab audience attention instead of letting the story speak for itself. Your interpretation of the role of gender between the two films is interesting and you may be right I cannot remember the last time a male character was perceived to be "not as tough" as female charcters in a Hollywood film. Presentation wise your blog is pretty engaging as you've used images and video that help your discussion. The use of hyperlinks is also well done as the Wikipedia page highlights the dramatic plot changes in the remake. Be careful of font sizes, the references should probably be a little bigger as they are quite difficult to read.
That was an excellent, imformative post and a pleasure to read.